The LG Optimus Vu is coming to Verizon Wireless under a new moniker, "LG Intuition," Verizon announced in a press release Tuesday. The 5-inch phone fills the new "phablet" niche that has sat empty for the carrier while the 5.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Note sold millions worldwide, including on carriers like AT&T.

The LG Intuition has a 5-inch display with an unusual 4:3 aspect ratio and 768x1024 resolution. An 8 megapixel camera that can record 1080p video sits on the back and there's a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front. Inside, the phone has a 1.5GHz dual-core Scorpion processor, Adreno 220 GPU, 1GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The phone comes with a "Rubberdium" pen for use with the screen, and a QuickMemo app for notes or drawings that is accessible with a hardware key. The Intuition is also capable of NFC, and will include two "Tag+" stickers in the box which users can use to customize the NFC reactions (turn off WiFi, turn volume up, and so on). The phone will be available on Verizon starting September 10 for $199.99 with a two-year contract.

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Are touch pens making some resurgence? I thought the reason iphone took off so well was b/c the touch interface was so great you didn't need a pen. Now devices are bringing back the pen. Seems odd.

The pen isn't for the primary UI. It's for drawing and, theoretically, handwriting recognition. Which latter was never as good as just typing and, apparently, still isn't. But a fair number of people (including myself) draw and sketch on their tablets and this allows the manufacturer to differentiate their product. Neat as it is, I'm not expecting this trend to last, myself.

I would like a 4:3 phone at 4-4.3". Alas I'm stuck with iOS. If only Apple made different models.

464 posts | registered Feb 22, 2012

Casey Johnston
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston

...as a verizon customer im fine with not having giant ass phones to buy, anything above 4.3" screen is too big as far as im concerned anyway. what i am annoyed with is the fact that there is one (rather sucky) windows phone for verizon... i do hope that gets fixed when windows phone 8 comes out.

Huh. Thanks for the photo. Still have mixed emotions. That form factor would probably better for drawing, but odd for pockets and holding up to my head to talk. Well, at least they're trying something new.

Fingers have always sucked for doing fine work (writing, small UI interaction), it's just that we decided that we could skip doing stuff like that once the iPhone came out. Also, it's a different kind of touchscreen. I'm not sure what the point of the stylus is on this phone however, circling a calender and writing on the phone is not a killer feature in my book. You can rest assured that very few Android apps will support the stylus directly, although I imagine it could be an advantage in some games to not have your finger obscuring the play area.

Are touch pens making some resurgence? I thought the reason iphone took off so well was b/c the touch interface was so great you didn't need a pen. Now devices are bringing back the pen. Seems odd.

The pen isn't for the primary UI. It's for drawing and, theoretically, handwriting recognition. Which latter was never as good as just typing and, apparently, still isn't. But a fair number of people (including myself) draw and sketch on their tablets and this allows the manufacturer to differentiate their product. Neat as it is, I'm not expecting this trend to last, myself.

Are touch pens making some resurgence? I thought the reason iphone took off so well was b/c the touch interface was so great you didn't need a pen. Now devices are bringing back the pen. Seems odd.

The pen isn't for the primary UI. It's for drawing and, theoretically, handwriting recognition. Which latter was never as good as just typing and, apparently, still isn't. But a fair number of people (including myself) draw and sketch on their tablets and this allows the manufacturer to differentiate their product. Neat as it is, I'm not expecting this trend to last, myself.

The question is: are you going to want to draw/sketch on your phone? Even one that's slightly larger than normal phones? I guess it's no smaller than a cocktail napkin, but I can't help but to think I'd rather have the stylus deleted for more battery given the choice. It's something I would use maybe once in a blue moon unless someone comes up with a killer feature that requires it.

Are touch pens making some resurgence? I thought the reason iphone took off so well was b/c the touch interface was so great you didn't need a pen. Now devices are bringing back the pen. Seems odd.

The pen isn't for the primary UI. It's for drawing and, theoretically, handwriting recognition. Which latter was never as good as just typing and, apparently, still isn't. But a fair number of people (including myself) draw and sketch on their tablets and this allows the manufacturer to differentiate their product. Neat as it is, I'm not expecting this trend to last, myself.

The question is: are you going to want to draw/sketch on your phone? Even one that's slightly larger than normal phones? I guess it's no smaller than a cocktail napkin, but I can't help but to think I'd rather have the stylus deleted for more battery given the choice. It's something I would use maybe once in a blue moon unless someone comes up with a killer feature that requires it.

I have and do, in a pinch, if my tablet isn't around (My phone is a Droid RAZR MAXX). I'm a graphic artist by trade, and whether exploring an idea or sketching for a client, sometimes only a sketch will do. I imagine it might be the same for architects, mechanical or aerospace engineers, or anyone else who deals with visual ideas on a frequent basis.

I recognize that this is a niche. Most people may not have much use for such a capability, and a bigger battery would be a worthy trade. But every device doesn't have to be right for every person, and I'm happy manufacturers are exploring these ideas.

I would like a 4:3 phone at 4-4.3". Alas I'm stuck with iOS. If only Apple made different models.

Okay so this phone fits for Graphic Artists and Professional Wrestlers and that's it's niche then I guess? I bet ol Andre the Giant would have loved to have a phone like this. I mean really can you imagine how comical he would look holding some of the small flip phones?

But a fair number of people (including myself) draw and sketch on their tablets and this allows the manufacturer to differentiate their product. Neat as it is, I'm not expecting this trend to last, myself.

So what you're saying is... this phone is for the very serious Draw Something players out there?

Pretty poor resolution considering that the galaxy note (the original, old one) had 1280x800

agreed - with a screen that big, it's gonna be pixel city. i'm guessing they got a deal on some clearance screens from some EOL project... maybe some pachinko machines or something, like all those Lilliput monitors out there.

weird that the pic at the top of the article makes it look like just another long/skinny phone, yet the one linked to in the comments is much more square. i have "piano fingers", but i still don't think i could survive without a real keyboard though. i'll stick with my droid4 for now.

We have been using pens as a tool for a long time. I'm confused as to why people are now considering digital pen-input as counter-intuitive. WP6.5 and others like it was lost to the iPhone touched based UI because they made it a mandatory to use it. As long as Android UI stays independent of needing a stylus, I have see only benefits in having stylus compatible apps on mobile phones and tablets. A phone doesn't have to be 5 to 5.3 inches for a stylus to become useful. I would use a stylus with a Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Nexus. It doesn't even have to come with the phone, it could be an accessory.

Something tells me VZW customers will never see a Note 2 because of this phone.

Well, check Verizon off my list as a new carrier. The Note 2 is a game changer for me, and it looks like I'll have to make the move over to AT&T if Sprint doesn't step up to the plate.

I know this phone isn't for everyone, but when I started carrying my Keocera 6035 back in the 1900's I was laughed at for the size of my phone; now it's smaller than most of what everyone carries. Give it 3-5 years and a 5" phone will look small.

This phone may just be coming to the market, but it's old news -- I remember its first appearance in media was half a year ago. Thus, I've had time to accumulate some thoughts.

1. Resolution -- the same pixels-count as an old iPad, but on a twice smaller screen. Should make for a good "hackinpad" 2. It's too broad. "Phablet" sounds appropriate, because it's "phat". Seriously, this is coming from someone still rocking the Dell Streak. I love my big phone to death, ironically oversize is a common cause of death -- I recently dropped and shattered it, because let's face it, it's just too inconvenient to hold with one hand. Phat phone nevermore.3. I don't care how I look when talking on a big phone. I still look better than you. My youthfulness, taste in clothing, and above all my natural modesty adorn me. Think about this next time you laugh at a handsome person with a big phone.4. Samsung didn't steal the concept for the Note from this, the Note was out first. Whoever said that is taking a cheap potshot. It could be funny if Samsung was reknowned to NEVER steal an idea, but let's not kid ourselves.5. Someone said he'd get this phone but was tied up with iOS. How can you be tied to an OS? Don't answer that, I am being facetious -- of course I know you purchased productivity iOS applications for $10,000./s

I think it is interesting that everyone selling ads is lamenting that mobile platforms don't have screen space for ads. And suddenly we have cumbersome phones the size of a paperback which are a pain for the user. Hmmm, I wonder who they were thinking of when they designed them?

Well, I'm all for more choice, but I don't want to loose the choice of a top-of-the-line 3.5" phone. That already seems to be happening, and if you want one, expect already dated specs from a no-name company.

Hey! If microsoft makes one of these: "phurface". Which should not be confused with a beardface, but could be used with one.